In a rare alignment of industry titans, Binance founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao and Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert have identified a critical barrier to cryptocurrency's mainstream future: the lack of robust privacy features. On February 15, 2026, CZ took to social media platform X to highlight how the transparency of public blockchains is a major hurdle for business adoption, particularly for payroll.
CZ argued that if a company pays employees in crypto on-chain, anyone can see individual salaries by examining the blockchain address. This level of exposure, while useful for audit trails, is a significant deterrent for companies that keep compensation confidential. He emphasized that the current system's pseudo-anonymity is undermined by blockchain analytics and exchange KYC requirements, making transactions traceable and less appealing than traditional banking for everyday use.
Echoing this sentiment, investor Chamath Palihapitiya pointed to a lack of fungibility in major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, where each coin's history is tracked, preventing them from being truly interchangeable like cash. Both leaders agree this privacy gap stifles use cases from buying digital goods to corporate payments.
Barry Silbert, an early Bitcoin backer, framed privacy-focused cryptocurrencies as the next major asymmetric investment opportunity. He suggested that 5-10% of Bitcoin's supply could eventually flow into privacy coins, potentially driving substantial value and adoption for assets like Zcash (ZEC) and Bittensor (TAO). The proposed solution centers on implementing shielded transactions and privacy layers that can make transactions secure and private while remaining compliant, which could unlock secure crypto payments for businesses and accelerate mainstream trust and adoption.
